2018 Copa do Nordeste


The 2018 Copa do Nordeste was the 15th edition of the main football tournament featuring teams from the Brazilian Northeast Region. The competition featured 20 clubs, with Bahia and Pernambuco having three seeds each, and Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Sergipe, Alagoas, Paraíba, Maranhão and Piauí with two seeds each.
Sampaio Corrêa defeated the defending champions Bahia 1–0 on aggregate to win their first Copa do Nordeste title. As champions, Sampaio Corrêa qualified for the Round of 16 of the 2019 Copa do Brasil.

Format changes

In 2018 season there was a qualifying stage. In the qualifying stage, a total of 8 teams competed in a single-elimination tournament where the four winners advanced to the group stage. The group stage had only 4 groups. 12 teams gained direct entries into the group stage while the other four berths were decided by the qualifying stage.

Teams

The entry stage was determined as follows:
  • Group stage: 12 teams
  • *Teams which qualified for berths 1–2 from Bahia, Ceará and Pernambuco
  • *Teams which qualified for berth 1 from Alagoas, Maranhão, Paraíba, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe
  • Qualifying stage: 8 teams
  • *Teams which qualified for berth 3 from Bahia and Pernambuco
  • *Teams which qualified for berth 2 from Alagoas, Maranhão, Paraíba, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe
AssociationTeam Entry stageQualification method

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows.

Draws

The draw for the qualifying stage was held on 3 July 2017, 11:00, at the CBF headquarters in Rio de Janeiro.
Teams were seeded by their 2017 CBF ranking. The eight teams were drawn into four ties, with the Pot A teams hosting the second leg.
Pot APot B
Náutico

Qualifying stage

In the qualifying stage, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would be used. If still tied, extra time would not be played, and the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner.

Group stage

In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The teams were ranked according to points. If tied on points, the following criteria would be used to determine the ranking: 1. Wins; 2. Goal difference; 3. Goals scored; 4. Head-to-head. If tie on aggregate, the away goals rule would be used ; 5. Fewest red cards; 6. Fewest yellow cards; 7. Draw in the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation.
The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the quarter-finals of the knockout stages.

Group A


Group B


Group C


Group D


Final stages

Starting from the quarter-finals, the teams played a single-elimination tournament with the following rules:
  • Each tie would be played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg.
  • If tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would be used. If still tied, extra time would not be played, and the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner.

Seeding

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 2 April 2018, 12:00, at the CBF headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. The 8 qualified teams were drawn into four ties between a group winner and a group runner-up, with the group winners hosting the second leg.
Pot 1Pot 2

2018 Copa do Nordeste team

The 2018 Copa do Nordeste team was a squad consisting of the eleven most impressive players at the tournament.
Pos.PlayerTeam
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